According to law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said, this will include putting an end to the matter once and for all, as well as seeking compensation for legal costs incurred.
Azalina said that technically, the so-called Sulu heirs could pursue claims in any of more than 150 countries that are signatories to the New York Arbitration Convention.
However, Azalina, who is also Pengerang MP, said this “forum shopping” would only be possible with the financial backing provided by litigation funder Therium Group.
To that end, she said the attorney-general’s chambers (AGC) will be reaching out to Therium to provide the group with full disclosure.
The underlying strategy is to stop Therium from funding this claim (by the so-called Sulu heirs), Azalina said during a press conference here.
The dispute is linked to the Sulu heirs’ claims to Sabah. The then-sultanate had leased Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company in 1878 and the Borneo state was later absorbed into Malaysia. The Sulu sultanate ruled the islands in the Sulu Archipelago, which are part of Mindanao in today’s Philippines.
On Tuesday, the Hague Court of Appeal dismissed a bid by eight people, claiming to be descendants of the late sultan of Sulu, to enforce a US$15 billion arbitration award against the Malaysian government.
Earlier this month, the Paris Court of Appeal annulled the US$15 billion award from Spanish arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa.
The Sulu sultanate saga began when the group sought arbitration in Spain after Malaysia cancelled an annual payment to them following the armed incursion into Lahad Datu on the east coast of Sabah.
Besides putting a stop to the matter, Azalina also repeated Putrajaya’s commitment to claiming costs.
“We are going on the offensive. We want to be compensated for all that we have spent and will continue to spend (in pursuit of this case).”
She said after the courts in Paris and the Hague awarded Malaysia costs, the counsel representing the claimants had said “they want to pay”.
Today, Azalina asked: “Who is ‘they’? We don’t know and we’re still waiting to find out.”
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